PNW BackStories

06/20/2026

Changing My Life

Life is about balance.
Good things happen, and so do bad.
Usually, when a door is about to fly open, all Hell comes against you.
Kathy and I are in that place.
No, not relationally, but some nasty stuff is pounding on our door trying to keep us from going through to the next thing.
No need to feel sorry, it’s all part of God’s plan.
Exhaustion is probably what a butterfly feels as it’s about to turn from caterpillar to something much more beautiful.

While scrolling through my social media this morning, a song written and sung by the group Chicago caught my attention.
I remember this song from High School.
“I’ve been searching so long.”
Here are the lyrics:

“As my life goes on, I believe
Somehow something's changed
Something deep inside
Ooh, a part of me
There's a strange new light in my eyes
Things I've never known
Changing my life
Changing me

I've been searching
So long
To find an answer
Now I know my life has meaning, oh

Now I see myself as I am
Feeling very free
Life is everything
Ooh, it's meant to be
When my tears have come to an end
I will understand
What I left behind
Part of me”

I needed to hear that song this morning.
It takes me back to a more innocent day when I had more years in front of me than behind me.
I’m about to turn 67; that sounds so old.
As we age, the world likes to tell us to step back, to take it easy, to shut up.
When things start to move forward, an unseen force tries to push you back into a rocking chair.

The world wants us to believe that our older years are for settling, not changing.
Rebuke that lie as quickly as it’s placed in your mind by the enemy of your soul and a culture hell-bent on puffing up lips, tucking tummies, baring six packs, and tightening skin with Botox.
It’s a lie.
Change is what keeps us living, not just breathing while taking up space on this planet.
Change is what allows us to dream even bigger.
You don’t stop exploring new things with excuses or aches and pains; you push on, dream bigger, live more fully.
In the song, it says, “When my tears have come to an end, I will understand what I left behind, part of me.”

Don’t be afraid to peel off the shell of what’s held you back.
To find new life, something has to die.

Time for another piece of Rick Dancer to go away so that something new, something beautiful, something unrecognizable, can be born in its place.




06/16/2026

The Handshake Says It All
After a day of cycling in Glacier National Park, Kathy and I needed a carb load.
Nothing rewards hard work like pizza and a good beer.
We found both at North Fork Pizza in downtown Columbia Falls.
It doesn’t look like much on the outside, but don’t let that stop you.
On a Sunday night, the place was busy the whole night.
The pizza is homemade and amazing.
The staff is top-notch.
The service was spectacular.
But what made the night was the Wyoming Cowboy and his family, who sat near us.
As they walked in the door, you could tell these were good people.
There were five of them.
They were trying to find a place to sit in a very crowded little restaurant.
Next to us, a family had just left, so I motioned to him that there was a table.
He walked over to thank me, asked my name, and shook my hand.
His handshake was authentic, firm, and felt like a guy who works with his hands.
I asked if he was a cowboy, he laughed and said yes we have a ranch in Wyoming.
He asked about us, and he introduced us to his family.
When I introduced Kathy, he took off his baseball hat, tipped his head, and said, “Glad to meet you.”
Who does that anymore?
Who is this man?
What happened to that America?
In an age where some people don’t know the difference between a man and a woman, this guy understands and probably has little time to even consider such nonsense.
I gave him my business card and said he should get a hold of me.
I told him I want to come visit him on his ranch and show the world what a true cowboy looks like, how he lives, and what he believes.
He said that sounds like fun.
So, don’t be surprised if you meet this cowboy in a story in the near future.
The best part?
There are people like him all over this country just waiting to share their story.
We simply need to take the time to listen, learn, and give less of our attention to the crazies and more value to people like him.
Now that’s how you make America Great Again. fork pizza
Columbia Falls, Montana

06/15/2026

The Ride To The Sun

I don’t know where to start.
How do you describe the handiwork of a God who cares about every detail?

We did not get to the top; it was still closed, but we managed to ride nearly 40 miles.
Then we did another 11-mile bike ride on the other side of the park.
Tonight is pizza night…lol….carb load.

The ride was not as hard as we thought.
We’re used to riding mountain bikes up rocks and steep grades, so The Ride To The Sun was not that grueling.
It was 2700 feet of climbing, but the scenery kept it interesting with lots of stops for pictures.

We ran into (not literally) three women from Georgia and had the nicest conversation.
When you ride like that, you have something in common with those willing to take the same risk.
A lot of people ride E-bikes, and we think that’s great.
We prefer old-fashioned human power; to do less would make us cranky.

At the closed gate, we were talking with this couple from Colorado.
We were filling them in on all that Montana has to offer.
They asked us where we used to live in Oregon.
We told them, and they said they lived there from 2000 to 2008.

I asked if they used to watch the news, and they both got quiet.
They looked at me funny, I took off my hat and sunglasses and said do you remember Rick Dancer?
They went nuts.
It was so much fun.

This is what we want to do with the rest of our lives, or at least as long as we can stay healthy.
Kathy and I want to find the simple stories of survival, of people who take risks, and who still have hope.

A friend, Tom, from our gym in Helena, told us he was camping at Fish Creek starting tonight.
We finished our second ride, climbed in the car, and went in search of Tom’s campsite.
He was happy to see us as we were to see him.

Life is about living around others.
Life is about talking to strangers until they are no longer strange.
It’s about finding new places, good food, warm conversations, and doing it all in the biggest and largest church ever built by our creator.
Nature is where He lives.
It’s where he connects us and shows off His artistic ability.
He sprinkles our lives with people, just to make life more interesting.
It would be a shame not to venture out.
Perhaps it’s time to become the American Nomads.
More to come.

06/14/2026

Sometimes You Just Have To Take The Risk

I think the reason people don’t take more risks is the fear of failure.
We don’t want to look stupid to the people around us, so we numb and dumb down our lives and never really live.

We spend a lot of time dreaming of the life we want to live, but never pull the shute, never leap from the plane, or climb to the top of that mountain.

At the end of this month, I turn 67.
Yesterday, we had lunch at a little spot in the backcountry of Montana.
An older gentleman, and I do mean gentleman, started talking with us.
I’m gonna guess he’s a local rancher who is widowed.
He asked me how old I was. When I said 67, he said, “The last time I saw 67 was when I was driving slowly down the highway.”
He got the biggest chuckle out of that.
I asked his age, 87.

I could not believe it.
He did not look 87.
A few minutes later, a guy walked up who looked his age, 92, but his attitude was that of someone my age.
He makes walking sticks and proudly showed off the model he chose for his Saturday outing to the local lunch spot.

Today, Kathy and I will ride our bikes, human-powered, on The Road To The Sun, in Glacier National Park.
It’s something she’s wanted to do for a long time.
They open it to the top, for bikes only, for just a couple of days.
It may not open today; you never know.
The risk you take is that you don’t get to the top this time.

You don’t have to climb mountains or ride to the sun to live a good life.
Risk is not just physical but mental.
You can look your age on the outside, but what counts is the reflection shown to the world around us, which is the happiness you have on the inside.
Don’t let others define your risk.
Don’t allow them to squelch your zest for life.

Kathy and I are about to take a huge risk, not the ride to the sun, but something else we’ll be telling you about in the coming weeks.
We’ve been talking and dreaming about trying this thing for years.
We’re about to hit the golden buzzer.
We aren’t getting any younger, so if we’re gonna do it, we’d better strike while our mind and body are still able. LOL
More to come.

05/30/2026

Gas Prices too high for a vacation this summer? Not if you plan right and visit Coos Bay, North Bend, or Charleston, Oregon.

05/29/2026

A friend is letting us stay in his new home, which he is putting on AIRBNB for the week. If you are interested in a big house for a large group, check the comment section.

05/08/2026

I can’t pick my nose no matter where I go. In the little town of Potlatch, Idaho, Karen from Arizona walked up and said she followed me online. She saw my earlier post from Moscow and wondered if she’d see me. Sure enough in the middle of rural America we ended up at the same little cafe. Thanks Karen.

10/14/2025

The Stickers Only Stick If You Let Them One of my favorite books is “You Are Special” by Max Lucado. When I was a news guy, I would get asked to come read or speak in schools, and this story was always the one I picked. It’s about a village where t...

10/01/2025